Life, Love, and Abduction
by CJfaninSTL
Summary: Set:   Some time after official series finale.    Life has been going well for Woody and Jordan until an unexpected crisis gets in the way, followed by an abduction.  Is it the end of Woody and Jordan?  Disclaimer:   I do not own Crossing Jordan and the
1. Life Changes

**This story opens in Jordan's apartment. Woody has been spending more and more nights here lately. It's morning. The pair has just woken up.**

Woody Hoyt woke up to the sound of Jordan Cavanaugh's voice. He opened one eye to see who she was talking to, then sighed and closed it again.

"Joooordaan….get off the phone," he grumbled. She continued on with her conversation, either not hearing him or just ignoring him.

"What time did you want me to be there? " She asked into the phone, "Okay, tomorrow at six o'clock? Great, okay, see you then,"

"Who was that?" Woody asked when he heard the beep of the phone signaling that she had ended the conversation.

"It was my dad. He wants me to have dinner with him tomorrow night. Said he has something to talk to me about. Not sure what it's about but it sounded kind of serious." Jordan said as she pulled back the covers on the bed and prepared to get up.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Woody asked as grabbed her arm to stop her from getting up. "It's early. Lay back down!"

"Well I'm awake now. I thought maybe I'd go for a run. Want to come?" Jordan asked, but Woody just smiled and pulled her back down onto the bed.

"What I want is for you to stay right here in bed with me," he said as he began to kiss her slowly and seductively.

A while later, Jordan sat, resting her body up against Woody's.

"I need to get up. I have to be at work in an hour," Jordan said reluctantly.

"Yeah, me too. I'm off at eight tonight. Want to have another sleepover?" Woody said with a wink.

"Listen, Woods, I've been thinking. It's silly having you bring a toothbrush and an overnight bag over here every time we plan one of these…sleepovers as you call it. Why don't you pack up a bunch of your stuff and bring it over…permanently."

Woody raised his eye brows in surprise.

"Why Jordan Cavanaugh, are you asking me to move in? You are, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I am." She replied seriously. His face also grew serious.

"Are you sure about this? It's a big commitment, and let's face it, that has not really been one of your strong points…"

She looked up at him, rolled her eyes, but nodded.

"C'mon man, I've come a long way in the last few months! "

"I know, but moving in together?"

"Yeah. As I said, Woody, I've been thinking about it. We spend almost every night here anyway. You have a key. I love having you here when I get home from work. Let's just…let's just make it official. Move in with me," Jordan said as she pulled her face up even to his. Woody's face broke into a wide smile as he kissed her softly.

"There's nothing I'd love more than to be here with you every day and every night. I'll start packing my things and move in this weekend."

This time, it was Jordan's turn to smile as she kissed him back.


	2. Meeting Mr Jankins

"Hey Hoyt, someone is waiting for you in your office. Says his name is Greg Jankins. He's been there all morning," Woody's colleague, Officer Steve Malloy informed him when he entered the police station later that morning.

"Jankins? I don't think I know anyone by that name. Did he say what he wanted?"

"No, just came in, asked for you by name and upon being told that you had the early morning off, asked if he could wait for you in your office. I figured it'd be okay."

"Alright, thanks. I better go see what he wants," Woody said as he headed down the hall to his office.

Woody entered his office and saw a rather muscular looking man sitting in the chair across from his desk. He was dressed in street clothes and appeared to be slightly upset about something.

"Mr. Jankins?" Woody asked as he extended a hand towards the man, "I'm Detective Woody Hoyt. I understand you wanted to see me?" Greg Jankins blew off the hand shake and stood up just a few inches from Woody.

"Yeah, I've got something to say. You took something from me and I want answers for it," he said as he glared at Woody.

"Took something from you? How can that be considering this is the first time I have ever laid eyes on you?" Woody replied sternly.

"You took the best thing from me. My fiancée."

"What the hell are you talking about? Who is your fiancée and how did I take her from you?"

"My fiancée WAS Lu Simmons and you are the reason she's dead, instead of being here with me."

Woody was taken aback by what he had just heard.

"I don't know who you think you are, Jankins, but Lu was not engaged and I am not the reason she's dead. That was an unfortunate tragedy that was beyond my control. Now if you would excuse me, I have work to do."

"Oh no you don't. You're not just going to dismiss me. Lu was engaged to me until she came to this city. Things were great until she started working here. The next thing I know, she's calling it quits with me, hooking up with some 'hot shot detective' who ends up getting her killed," Mr. Jankins said angrily as he came nearly nose to nose with Woody, but Woody did not back down.

"You may have been engaged to her, but she obviously broke it off with you for a reason. She never even mentioned you to me so you must not have been all that important. As for her death, she was killed in the line of duty. It was an awful time, and I wish more than anything that it hadn't happened, but it did. If I could have prevented it, I would have. Believe me, I would have, but there was nothing I could do. Now, you need to leave. There is nothing more that I can do for you. Good day, Mr. Jankins," Woody said as he walked over to the door to his office and held it open for the man.

"This isn't the end of it, Detective. You will be hearing from me again."

"Is that a threat? Are you threatening me? Oh please tell me that you are!"

"Not a threat, Hoyt. A promise," and with that, Mr. Jankins walked out of the office, slamming the door behind him. Woody took a minute to process what had just gone on. Lu, a fiancée? She never said a word about ever being engaged. Something just didn't seem right to Woody, so he walked over to his computer and did an official police search on Greg Jankins. He had been arrested once for aggravated assault three years ago, and had been cited for disorderly conduct on another occasion about a year after the arrest. Nothing before that, nothing since that. Woody did notice that the arrest was in the same town that he recalled Lu saying she had lived prior to coming to Boston. Why hadn't she mentioned being engaged?


	3. An Old Case Resurfaces

"Jordan, I need to you make a pick-up in Medford," Garret Macy said as he entered Jordan's office just after lunch. "Twenty-seven year old male with two gunshot wounds to the head and back. Detective Seely will meet you at the scene."

Jordan groaned.

"Seely? Why do I always get him?"

"A, because you are the best at handling him and the police captain knows that, and B, because you are just oh so lucky." Macy responded with a smirk.

"Why not Kate? She can put him in his place with the best of 'em."

"Kate's off this week. She has her dog in some competition out in Worcester and apparently there is much to do in order to prepare for the extravaganza. Here's the address, now scram or you'll be here all night trying to get trace done." Macy said has he handed her a slip of paper with the address on it. Jordan groaned again but took the paper, grabbed her jacket and headed out the door.

"Jordan Cavanaugh. Pleasure seeing you here." Detective Matt Seely said as the coroner entered the house in Medford.

"Wish I could say the same," Jordan said with a teasing smile, "What do we have?"

"I just got here myself but from what I gather, the dead guy on the floor was shot in the head and back."

"That much I knew. Tell me something I don't know." Jordan said impatiently. "Any witnesses? Anyone know when he was shot?"

"Nope. Not a soul. Not even the murder weapon. I need a time of death," Seely said as he pulled out a notebook.

Jordan pulled out her instruments and began to examine the body of the man who was lying face down in a pool of blood.

"Rigor has set in and judging from his body temp he has been dead for more than twenty-four hours. Obviously a murder since the wounds are to the back of the body. No self defense marks. I'd say he was surprised from behind, never saw anything, never had a chance to fight back. Surprise ambush," she reached into his pocket and pulled out a wallet. She looked at the man's driver's license and gasped slightly before turning his head to see his face.

"What is it?" Seely asked.

"This guy…it's the former cop, Officer Connor Greco."

"As in...THE Connor Greco who was one of three officers responsible for that kid…Jamaar Wilkes' death?" Seely asked.

"The one and only," Jordan answered as she looked from the decedent to Officer Seely.

"Greco was the dead guy? I thought he was in jail for his part in the shooting death and cover-up of the Wilkes boy?" Dr. Macy said upon getting a status report from Jordan late that afternoon.

"He was out on probation. He apparently was able to work a deal with the prosecution. He only served six months in jail for Jamaar's death. Gotta love the system we have in this country," Jordan said, unable to hide her anger. "The other two are still in jail at least."

"Karma." Seely said as he scratched a few notes in his notepad.

"This won't be any easy one for the Boston Police Department," Jordan said to Seely. "There were a lot of angry people in this season over what happened to Jamaar. Any number of them could have shot him."

"A store across the street had a surveillance camera. I have Townsend looking over it now," Seely said as he walked into the room where Nigel Townsend sat at a computer, ferociously working with the DVD. "Got anything yet?"

"A black four door car was in the area at the approximate time of the shooting. It's the only vehicle at the scene all day. I got the license plate and ran it through the data base. It's a rental car from Kertz Rentals at the Airport."

"Did you check with the rental place to see who had the car?" Jordan asked.

"Of course. Your person of interest in the shooting death of Officer Connor Greco is a Mr. Greg Jankins." Nigel replied.


	4. Making Sense Of It All

"The car was registered to Greg Jankins? That guy was in my office this morning claiming to have been Lu's fiancé," Woody told Jordan as the two sat at Jordan's table eating Chinese takeout food. Jordan had just filled Woody in on the evidence uncovered in the Greco murder case.

"Lu was engaged? When?"

"He says Lu broke it off around the time she came to Boston. This guy blames me for everything…from whatever went wrong in their relationship to Lu's death. Where does Greco fit into this?" Woody said, thinking out loud as he threw his dinner trash away.

"Well, my guess would be that if he did kill Greco, it's because he found out that he was the one who helped cover up Jamaar Wilkes death, which ultimately led to the riots that got Lu killed. What I don't get though is why he blames you for her death. You didn't cover anything up and you didn't fire any bullets that night."

"Your guess is as good as mine. He was plenty ticked though. I put out an APB for him. We'll find him and bring him in for questioning." Woody walked over to the couch and sat down. A minute later, Jordan joined him.

"Let's shelve all this murder mystery stuff for tonight," Jordan said as she settled back into Woody's chest. "Let's talk about you moving in here. Now I'm okay with you bringing a few things over, but that Angelina Jolie poster is not welcome here."

"C'mon now…what do you have against Brangelina?" Woody asked in mock anger.

"I have nothing against her, I just don't want her hanging on our wall." Jordan said. Woody just smiled. "What's that smile for?"

"Our wall. I like the sound of that." Woody replied.

"So do I. Our wall….our apartment…and my favorite…our bed." Jordan said with a mischievous grin as she brought her mouth up to his for a kiss. Just then, Woody's cell phone rang.

"Why is it that every time we kiss, one of our phones rings?" Woody said with a sigh as he shifted in order to reach his phone. "This is Hoyt. Yes sir. I understand….He asked for me? Well yes sir, I'm flattered, bu….no sir, I don't need to think about it but I…yes sir. Okay, thank you for calling. Good-night, sir." Woody hung up his fun.

"Who was that? It sounded important."

"It was. That was the Captain. He got a phone call for a police Captain in New York. Captain Landers. Apparently the Captain Landers has four vacancies in his precinct. He called our Captain here and asked for recommendations for fillings one of those spots and Cap gave Landers my name. I was just offered a spot on the NYPD force." Woody ran his hand through his hair. Jordan sat up straight.

"What are…what did you tell him?" She asked.

"I was going to turn him down on the spot, but he wouldn't let me get a word in. Told me to think about it for a few days and get back to him."

"Woody, why are you so quick to turn it down? You should think about it. It's an amazing opportunity for you." Jordan said unconvincingly as she looked down at her hands. Woody didn't say anything for a moment, but then slowly and gently reached up and turned Jordan's face to meet his eyes. "I don't need to think about it, Jordan. Everything I need…everything I want is right here in Boston. I have a great job that I love, friends who mean everything to me, and you…the most important person in the world to me. The choice is easy for me. I'm turning down the job tomorrow." A smile spread across Jordan's face as she wrapped her arms around Woody's neck and kissed him long and passionately.

The next morning, Woody walked into the police station and was greeted with a slew of messages on desk. He quickly flipped through them when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. On the bottom of the stack was an envelope addressed to him with just one name in the return address…"Jankins." Woody tore the envelope open and pulled a picture from it. It was a picture of Greg Jankins. His arm was draped over the shoulders of a tall, slender blonde woman who had a huge smile on her face. The woman was Lu Simmons. Woody jumped up from his seat and went down the hall to the police officer's assistant who was assigned to the task of taking messages that morning.

"Officer Pulaski, where did this envelope come from?"

"It was sitting in the station mailbox out front," the young male officer responded.

"Do me a favor and bring up the surveillance film from outside the precinct from the time the mail was picked up yesterday, to the time this letter was pulled from the box this morning."

"Sure thing, Hoyt."

"Thanks. Just put it on a DVD and bring it to my office as soon as you can." Woody walked back to his office and looked at the picture again. He just could not understand why Lu had never mentioned being engaged. Oh how he wished she were still alive and was here to clear up this mess and shed some light onto who this Jankins person is and why he is so angry…angry enough to kill.


	5. Life As She Knew It

Greg Jankins sat in his truck outside of the morgue. Watching. Waiting. Detective Hoyt had ruined everything. He is the reason Lu had ended their relationship. He is the reason Lu ignored his phone calls and sent back his letters without so much as opening them. He is also the reason she is dead. Hoyt failed to protect her from the gunfire that night. Sure, Officer Greco shoulders much of the blame which is why he could no longer be allowed to live, but Hoyt is the reason Lu was still in Boston to be killed, instead of with him, far away from here. Killing him would be easy, but payback would be much, much sweeter.

Jankins perked up when he saw her. The reason he was sitting in his truck outside of the morgue. She had just left the building and was walking across the parking lot in the direction of her car. Jankins got out of his truck and started in her direction. He took a knife from his jacket pocket and hid it behind his back as he approached her. He had almost reached her when another woman called her from the next aisle over in the parking lot.

"Jordan! Jordan, wait up!" The woman yelled out as she was accompanied by a young man and a baby.

"Good morning Lily! Hi, Bug. How is my beautiful Goddaughter this morning?"

Jankins quickly put the knife away and slowly and obscurely walked back to his truck. He did not get what he wanted this time, but there would be other opportunities. He would get revenge on Woody Hoyt by taking away the very person most important to him.

xxx

Jordan never even noticed the man walking towards her. She was focus on the smiling baby in the stroller. Madeleine is the daughter of Jordan's part-time coworker Lily Lebowski and her ex-fiancé, Jeffrey Brandau, and the stepdaughter of her longtime friend and co-worker, whom everyone calls "Bug".

"Lily and Maddie are just dropping me off so I can say goodbye before Maddie spends the weekend with Jeffrey," Bug said as he bent down to put a pacifier in the fussy baby's mouth.

"Hey man, thanks again for covering my shift. I just have this dinner thing with my dad…"

"Not a problem. That's what friends are for," he said as he kissed Lily and Maddie bye. "I'll see you tomorrow."

The three said their good-byes and parted ways. Jordan got into her car and drove the fifteen minute drive to the apartment her father, Max Cavanaugh, had been living in ever since relocating back to Boston a few months ago.

Jordan arrived at her father's place at about a quarter to six. She found him sitting in a rocking chair in the living room, reading a book.

"Hey, dad!" She said as she kissed his cheek. "So what is so important that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Not now, Jordon. Eat first, then talk." He responded. With a puzzled look on her face, Jordan just nodded and headed into the kitchen to check on the supper. The two chatted about work and life during dinner. Afterwards, Max fixed them both a cup of tea and motioned for Jordan to follow him into the living room and then told her to have a seat, which she did, on the couch. He sat next to her and took both of her hands in his.

"Dad, will you just tell me what's going on? You're starting to scare me." Jordan told him. Max took a deep breath before speaking.

"Jordon, this is a very difficult to have to tell you, but it's time I did. About two weeks ago, I started feeling sick. I went to see a doctor and needless to say, after numerous tests, I did not get the diagnosis I had been hoping to hear."

Max paused and Jordan could feel her blood run cold. She knew that what her father was telling her was bad, but she was having a hard time processing what he was saying. Max continued.

"Jordon…sweetheart, I have stage 4 lung cancer."

"Dad…no!" Jordan gasped. In her line of work, she has seen many victims of lung cancer. She knows how deadly the disease is. In fact, it is the number one cancer related death in the United States.

"Unfortunately, there is not much that my team of doctors could do for me. There really is no cure for lung cancer that has progressed this far. Only treatment. So what I'm really telling you here is that….I'm dying."

Tears rolled down Jordan's cheeks as she still struggled to process what she was hearing. She grabbed her father and hugged him. As she did, she whisped, "how long?" In her ear, to which he responded by telling her that only 10% of patients with stage 4 lung cancer survive five years, and most do not make it past eight months. This information was more than Jordan could bear. She held on to her father as tightly as she could, intending to never let him go.


	6. Pulling Away

When Jordan got back to her apartment that night, Woody was asleep, so she elected not to wake him in order to tell him the devastating news. She wasn't sure she was ready to tell him anyway. She was struggling to come to terms with reality.

As she lay awake that night, Jordan thought about all the people in her life that had left her, either by leaving or by dying. First and foremost, her mother. Then there was her half-brother, James. There were also previous boyfriends and co-workers. She started to wonder why she bothers loving at all because loving, or even just caring about someone just seems to lead to heartache. Jordan looked down at Woody and wondered how long it would be before what she had with him ended. He could fall out of love with her or he could be killed in the line of duty…anything could happen. She didn't think she could handle that pain. It was hard enough losing her parents and friends, but Woody? The one man she loves more than any other in her life? Jordan couldn't seem to escape her thoughts so she got up, showered, got dressed and decided to go to work. At least there she could be alone with her thoughts and not have to worry about when the rest of her life would come crashing down around her.

xxx

Jordan stumbled through her day, doing her work and avoiding her friends and colleagues. She didn't want to think, she didn't want to talk to anyone and most importantly, she didn't want to feel the pain that kept creeping up and hitting her over and over again. Just after lunch, she went into her office and shut the door and just cried.

"Hey Jord…" Garret Macy barged into Jordan's office and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her sobbing into her hands. "What's wrong, Jordan?" He asked, rushing over to her.

"Geez, man, haven't you heard of knocking?" Jordan said as she wiped her face and looked down at the floor so as not to make eye contact with her friend.

"What happened?" He asked again. Jordan didn't mean to tell anyone, but suddenly she found herself telling Garret all about her father's illness. Garret listened intently and held Jordan's hand until she had finished.

"Life sucks, sometimes Jordan. You and I know that better than anyone because of our line of work. I wish I could say something to make it all better for you, but I know I can't so I won't even try. I will just say that we…everyone at this morgue…are here for you, and Woody is here for you and we are not going anywhere."

"Yeah, but for how long?" Jordan interrupted.

"For how long, what?"

"How long are you here for? In my life, I've learned that people leave and never come back. I thought things would be different but now my father…I can't take losing someone else I love." Jordan got up and rushed from the room. She didn't stop until she was outside. She got in her car and just drove for the next couple of hours. She took a long run through the streets of Boston, and then drove around for awhile longer before finally heading back to her apartment. When she arrived there Woody was anxiously awaiting her.

"Hey Jordan. There you are. I've been worried sick. Dr. Macy said you left the morgue all upset but he wouldn't tell me why. What's going on?" He asked as he walked over to give her a kiss. She turned her head slightly so that his kiss missed her lips and wound up on her cheek. He didn't seem to notice. Jordan was worried that if she told Woody, the tears would start again and she wouldn't be able to stop them, so instead she lied.

"Nothing. I'm just tired. I'm going to bed." She quickly changed into her pajamas and crawled in to bed. Woody climbed in next to her and was puzzled when Jordan immediately turned her back to him.

"C'mon, Jordan. I know something is wrong. Why don't you just tell me what it is?"

"Nothing is wrong. I just want to go to sleep." She said, her voice cracking slightly. Woody decided not to push. He hoped that Jordan would be able to tell him after she'd had a good night sleep.

xxx

Woody drove to the office exasperated the next morning. He had hoped to find out what was bugging Jordan that morning, but he was surprised to find that she had already left by the time he had woken up. He just couldn't figure out why she was avoiding him. Why did she have such a hard time opening up to him sometimes? Woody parked in his usual spot outside of the police station. He was greeted by Officer Pulaski.

"Hey Hoyt, sorry it took so long, but I got that surveillance DVD done for you and put it on your desk. I didn't see much on it, but maybe you will spot something that I didn't.

"Okay, thanks." Woody said as he pushed his thoughts of Jordan out of his mind and headed to his office. He popped the DVD into the video player and watched. He fast forwarded looking for any sign of Jankins on the screen. Finally, he saw a black four door car, much like the airport rental that Jankins and gotten from Kertz Rent-a-car, drove into view and parked outside of the station. A man that appeared to be the suspect got out of the car. The license plate was in view, but he couldn't make it out. The man walked over to the mailbox, put something in, got back into his car and sped away. It wasn't much to go on, but if they could positively identify the man in the car as Jankins, they could link him to the Greco murder scene. Woody finished up some paperwork then took the DVD over to the morgue to have Nigel analyze it since his equipment was far better than anything they had at the police station.

"Think you can enhance this and get me a license plate number? I want to see if it's the rental car from Kertz" Woody asked Nigel.

"Is the Pope Catholic?" Nigel responded in his typical Nigel way. Woody grinned and slapped his friend on the back.

"That's what I was hoping you would say. Call me when you have something for me," he said as he headed for the doors. He nearly collided with Jordan on the other side. "Hey!"

"Hey." She replied quietly, all while avoiding his eyes.

"What's up with you?" he asked.

"Nothing's up." Jordan replied.

"Then why won't you look at me and why did you leave so early this morning without as much as a kiss good-bye?" Woody changed his tone to a teasing manor hoping to get Jordan to loosen up. "My lips were lonesome. They missed your lips." His effort failed.

"I have to go. I have a lot of paperwork to get done." Jordan said, ignoring his question.

"What time are you going to be home tonight?"

"Late and I have to get up early in the morning. Staff meeting. You probably should just stay at your place tonight." She walked down the hall to her office. Woody followed her in and closed the door behind him.

"Jordan, what's going on? A couple of days ago you were all excited about us moving in together and now you act like you want nothing to do with me. I know something is bothering you and I wish you'd just tell me what it is so I can help."

"And I wish you would just leave me alone so I can get my work done." Her tone grew increasingly agitated.

"You've keep working late and leaving early, so I barely see you anymore. You won't talk to me and you're very standoffish…." Woody began, but Jordan interrupted him.

"And you won't get off my back! Seriously, just go away!" She yelled. Woody was taken aback by her tone. Without another word, he turned around and left, slamming the door behind him.

Garret Macy saw the way Woody left and poked his head into Jordan's office.

"Don't sabotage this, Jordan."

"Sabotage what?" Jordan asked shortly.

"He loves you. Don't sabotage that because of what's going on with your father." With that, he closed the door and left.

Woody was angry. He hated it when Jordan pushed him and way and he hated it when she was angry at him, especially when he had no clue what she was so angry about. He drove back to the police station in a bad mood. He parked his car and got out, but paced outside for awhile in an attempt to calm himself down before going inside. Finally, he calmed down and headed towards his office.

"Hoyt, you have a call on line three." An officer called out to him. Woody nodded and headed to his office. He picked up the phone.

"This is Hoyt. How may I help you?" He asked.

"This is Captain Landers with the New York City Police Department." The voice said. Woody immediately sat up straight.

"Yes, Captain Landers. What can I do for you?"

"Well I'm hoping that I can do something for you. Have you given any more thought to accepting my job offer to come work for me here in New York?"

"Captain, as I told my Captain here, I am very flattered by the job offer, but I am very happy here in Boston. I have no plans to leave anytime soon, but I thank you for considering me."

"Hoyt, we are prepared to offer you a ten percent pay increase over what you are making now. I will give you two more days to consider this opportunity before I take it off the table for good. If you accept, we can have you on the job in New York in less than a week. Good day." He hung up before Woody could say anything else.

Woody hung up the phone. The ten percent pay increase sounded great, and it would be thrilling to work in New York, a place known to have one of the finest police departments in the world, but still, his whole life was in Boston now. Could he ever leave it behind?

xxx


	7. Leaving Boston

"Nigel, can you run ballistics on this gun?" Detective Seely asked as he entered the forensics room at the morgue.

"Sure can, mate. Who's is it?" Nigel said as he took the back that contained the gun from Detective Seely.

"Some boy scouts found it while out on some sort of nature hike in Medford. Thankfully they were smart enough to know not to touch it. I ran the serial number. It's registered to our favorite murder suspect, Greg Jankins…I'm hoping we can pull some useful fingerprints off the thing, but I'm not holding my breath. It was found next to a creek, but if we can at least match the bullet in this to the one in Officer Greco's head, we will have one more connection to try him on….if we ever catch him that."

Nigel used a special light to scan the gun for fingerprints. He was able to make out two smudged prints. He took samples and ran them through the computer. One was too smudged to get a positive idea, but the second proved close enough with seven points matching the fingerprints on record for Greg Jankins.

"Awesome," Seely said after Nigel had gone through the whole ballistics information on the gun and how it could be linked to the murder. "Now all we need is the suspect and I think we have enough evidence to nail Jankins to the wall."

xxx

Jordan left the morgue around 5 o'clock p.m. that night and decided to go for a run down by the harbor. She finds it easier to keep from thinking when she is running. She ran several miles before finally stopping to even catch her breath. She stopped by the water's edge and had a good cry before getting back up on her feet to start the journey back to her car. She stopped in at a small café to grab a sandwich.

"Hey Jordan! We seem to run into you everywhere we go." The voice came from Lily, who was seated a window booth with Bug. The two were alone as Madeleine was still with her father.

"Hi guys." Jordan said, forcing a smile.

"Care to join us?" Bug asked.

"Naw, I think I'm just going to head home. It's been a long day. A long week actually." She turned and headed out the door. Lily could sense that something was wrong with her friend.

"I'll be right back, Bug," she said as she raced after Jordan. She caught up to her just before she was about to cross the street, and grabbed her arm gently. Jordan turned to face her and Lily could instantly tell she had been crying. "Jordan, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Lily. I'm fine. Just go back to your dinner."

"I'm not going anywhere. Talk to me. What's going on?"

Tears sprang to Jordan's eyes as she shook her head, but she couldn't keep it in any longer.

"It's everything…my father is dying of cancer, Lily, and I don't know what to do about my relationship with Woody, my job has taken a backseat to everything else in my life….everything is just falling apart." Jordan wiped the tears from her eyes. Lily just looked at her for a moment before throwing her arms around her friend.

"We're here for you Jordan and we're not going anywhere. If things do fall apart, we will be with you to help you pick up the pieces. Don't shut us out."

"Thanks, Lily," Jordan said after a moment as she took a step back. "I'm just going to head home now. I need some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?" She turned to cross the street. Before Lily had a chance to protest Jordan's leaving, a car suddenly pulled out from a space nearby and sped across the parking lot, heading straight for the unsuspecting Jordan.

"Jordan, look out!" Lily called. Jordan saw the car just moments before it would have hit her, and quickly dove out of the way. The car swerved and missed her as Jordan hit the ground and rolled under a car that was parked a few feet away. It quickly sped off down the street, tires screeching.

"Jordan!" Lily called again as she raced to her friend. Bug, who had seen the whole thing from the café, came running as well. He reached them just as Lily helped her friend to her feet.

"I'm okay, I'm okay. It's just a scrape."

"You are not okay! You could have been killed!" Lily yelled. Bug took out his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Jordan asked.

"I'm calling Woody. You need to report this."

"No!" Jordan yelled as she took his phone from his hand and closed it. "I don't want to report it."

"Jordan, he was gunning for you!" Bug argued.

"I'm sure he wasn't. Just let it go."

"We ca…" Lily began, but Jordan cut her off.

"Let it go. I will not give a statement to the police. I just want to go home." With that, she jogged over to her car, hopped in, and sped away, leaving Bug and Lily standing there, just watching her go.

xxx

Jordan didn't go home after all. She drove to her father's place and spent the evening just sitting with him on his porch. She didn't want to stress him out by telling him about the incident at the harbor, or about the stress she had been under. So instead, they talked about everything else except what was really going on in their lives.

A couple miles away, Woody sat inside Jordan's apartment, waiting for her to return home so they could talk about what had happened earlier that day and, Woody hoped, to finally get Jordan to talk to him about whatever it was that has been bothering her for the last couple of days. The hours ticked by and Woody grew angry, then worried. Finally at about two in the morning, Jordan quietly let herself into the apartment. She was startled to see Woody sitting up, wide awake on the couch.

"Woody! What are you doing up?" She asked.

"What do you think I'm doing up? You got off hours ago. I was waiting for you. I was worried about you. I wish you would have called." Woody asked as he stood up.

"What, are you keeping track of my comings and goings now? I don't check in with anyone, Woody. You of all people should know that."

"Well, I was hoping we could talk about what happened earlier and what's been going on the past couple of days, and more importantly, what's bugging you."

"I really wish everyone would stop analyzing my every move and just leave me alone!" Jordan tossed her keys on the counter before turning back to Woody. "You're the worst about it. I need some space."

"Space? You need space from what? From me? Jordan, a couple of days ago you were telling me you wanted me to move in with you, and now you want me to leave you alone and give you space. I don't understand. What changed?" Woody was growing more and more impatient by the minute.

"Nothing changed…I…I'm just not ready after all. In fact, I think you should stay at your place for a few days." Jordan said, looking down at her hands.

"Are you serious?" Woody asked and Jordan just nodded. "You know, Jordan. I'm starting to think that nothing _has_ changed and that nothing ever will. I can't do this anymore. You want space, I'll give you your space. I'm going to call Detective Landers tomorrow and accept that job at NYPD. I'll be out of your life within a few days." With that, Woody turned around and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him. Jordan stood up and walked to the door, but didn't open it. She just stood there for a long time staring at it. Woody wouldn't really accept that job and leave Boston would he?

Xxx

Jankin's was furious. He'd missed his big opportunity again. He wanted to get to Woody Hoyt in the worst way and that way was through Jordan. She managed to avoid him once again, but he would get her next time….or die trying.

xxx

Woody stared at the phone in his hand, pausing only momentarily to look at the phone number written down on the pad on his desk. It was the number of Captain Landers at the NYPD. He knew what he had to do. He dialed the number and waited. Moments later, Captain Landers' secretary answered the phone.

"New York City Police Department, Captain Landers' line. This is Sherry. How may I be of service to you?"

"Yes, this is Detective Hoyt of the Boston Police Department. I believe Captain Landers is expecting my call."

"Yes, one moment please." Sherry the secretary said as she transferred the call.

"This is Captain Landers." The voice on the other end of the phone said. "Detective Hoyt, have you made your final decision on the job offer?"

"Yes I have sir," Woody began. "Have decided that I would be honored to come and work for the New York Police Department."

"Wonderful news! I will fax over all the papers you need to fill out and let's see if we can't just get you in New York in a couple of days." Landers said cheerfully.

"Thank you, sir. I would like that."

"Welcome to the team, Hoyt. I will have my secretary give you a call tomorrow." With that, the Captain hung up the phone. Woody had a mixture of emotions going through his mind as he began to type up his letter of resignation from the Boston Police Department, a place he had called home for many years now. A place with a lot of history for him, both good and bad…it is where he killed a man for the first time, a place where he made many friends, and a job that lead to his working with the people, his best friends, of the Medical Examiner's office…which also lead to Jordan. He didn't want to leave her, but at the same time, he knew that if he was ever going to settle down and have a family, Jordan was making it clear that she was not the woman for that. He didn't know how he would ever get over Boston or Jordan, but he knew he had to try.


	8. Saying Goodbye

"You're leaving? You're leaving Boston?" A surprised Nigel asked Woody the next afternoon as Woody stopped by the morgue to tell his friends of the news. He went at a time that he knew Jordan was not working so as to avoid running into her. He gathered Nigel, Bug, and Garret into the break room and told them of his new job.

"Yes, Nigel. I have filled out all the paper work and have gotten out of the lease on my apartment. I leave in two days." Woody said quietly.

"That's awfully quick, isn't it?" Garret said allowed.

"Well, yeah, but there's no reason to put it off. My Captain here was part of the reason I was offered the job and Seely is handling the only main case we have going right now, the Greco murder case. I just have to pack up my place here."

"Where will you stay in New York until you find a new apartment?" Bug asked.

"The department is putting me up in the New York Mennachi Hotel for the next two weeks while I find a place."

"How's Jordan taking this?" Lily wondered, asking the question that they all had on their minds.

"I don't really know. I told her I was going to take the job the other night, but I haven't talked to her sense. She wants her space so I'm giving it to her." Woody said rather gruffly.

"Woody, she's just upset bec…" Lily began, but Woody cut her off.

"I have to move on, Lily. Face it, Jordan is never going to change and I can't keep expecting….or hoping she will. I need to move on."

"Well, mate, you're not getting away from us this quietly. Tomorrow night, we're all going over to your place to help you get packed and then we're going to have a bon voyage party for you. Don't argue. We'll see you tomorrow at 5pm for packing." Nigel said matter-of-factly before turning around and leaving.

"It's not necessary!" Woody called after him, but Nigel didn't respond.

"We'll be there." Garret said, slapping Woody's shoulder and leaving.

"It won't be the same without you around here, Woody." Bug stated before he too left the room. Lily began to follow but turned just before she got to the door.

"I wish you wouldn't give up on Jordan. She's loves you, Woody. I know she does."

"Yeah, well, sometimes love isn't enough."

Lily had no response. She just looked at him sadly before leaving.

xxx

Jordan took the day off work in order to help her father begin the task of putting his "affairs in order" in the event of his death. It was a long and challenging day, but she managed to keep her composure with her father. He questioned her about Woody as he felt it was a bit surprising he hasn't heard from him since he told Jordan about his cancer diagnosis. Jordan sidestepped the questions as she was not ready to tell her father of her struggles with Woody, and that much of it had to do with Max's illness. After the rough day, all Jordan wanted to do was go home, take a hot bubble bath, put on her favorite duck pajamas, and crawl under the covers and sleep for the next 10 hours. This was not to be however as when Jordan returned to her apartment, she was surprised to find Woody inside.

"I'm just about done packing up my stuff. Then I'll be out of your way." He said quickly.

"You don't have to do that now…" Jordan said quietly.

"Yeah, I do, actually," Woody set his box down on the counter. "Jordan…I'm leaving Boston the day after tomorrow. I accepted the job with the New York Police Department."

Jordan was speechless. She didn't know how to react to this news. Woody put the final two items in his box and took a step closer to Jordan.

"This isn't easy for me, you know. I never intended…"

"It's not easy for me either, Woody. I didn't want this. I just…" Jordan replied as she fought back the tears that started to well up in her eyes. "I don't know what to say here." A lone tear trickled down her cheek. Woody put his hand on her cheek and wiped the tear from her face with his thumb. He kept his hand there.

"You can say you don't want me to go. You can give me a reason to stay, Jordan. Say what I want…no, what I need to hear." He said softly.

Jordan opened her mouth. She wanted to tell him everything…about her father, about her fears…but most of all, she wanted to tell him she loved him…but she just couldn't. She closed her mouth again. As she did, Woody's face fell in disappointment.

"Well, I guess that's all I needed to hear. Good-bye, Jordan." He quickly gave her forehead a peck before turning to pick up his box. He walked out of the apartment and forced himself not to look back.

Jordan went to the door and put her hands on the knob, but she didn't open it. Instead she collapsed to the floor and began to sob. Outside the building, Woody tossed the box of stuff in his trunk, got into the driver's seat, and wiped the moisture from his own eyes. Jordan Cavanaugh was the love of his life. Letting go of her was not something he would do easily. He started the car and drove off.

xxx

Greg Jankins loaded the supplies he would need the next evening into his car. Chloroform, duck tape, handcuffs, and some bottled water and canned food that would last several days. Lastly, he put the sharpest knife he had into the glove compartment. It would be needed as he had no intention of letting Woody get away with what happened to Lu. Payback would be seeing his face when the love of his life was killed right in front of him.

xxx

Bug, Lily, Nigel, and Garret gathered around in Woody's apartment the next evening. They had just loaded the final box of Woody's things into the moving trailer Woody had rented earlier that day.

"A toast to our good pal Woodrow!" Nigel said as he passed around drinks to the group.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to put an end to the drinks before they start. We're all heading home after this and I don't want anyone in a car after drinking whatever it is Nigel concocted here!" Woody said and he began to pick up a cup to empty out.

"Dearest Woodrow, you don't think I'd ever be the cause of a drinking and driving incident would you? Besides, your leaving is not an occasion to drink as it is not a celebration. It's simply a good-bye. As a sendoff I have prepared a fruit punch mixture. Try it. It's delightful."

The group didn't say anything for a minute before Woody broke the silence by starting to laugh.

"Nigel, I am defiantly going to miss you and your "mumbo-jumbo!" Woody wrapped an arm around Nigel in a quick hug. Nigel turned serious for a moment.

"Woody, you've been a great friend these past few years. I don't want to lose that just because we're in two different cities. Take care of yourself. Now if you will excuse me, I hate sappy good-byes, so I'm taking off." He tossed his paper cup in the trash and hurried out the door.

"We need to get going too." Lily said "Jeffrey will probably be at our place with Maddie soon."

"Give Maddie a kiss for me, okay?" Woody responded.

"I will." Lily said as she threw her arms around Woody's neck. "Bye, Woody."

Woody returned the hug. "Thank you for everything, Lily. When I first got to Boston, you were so nice to me and made me feel right at home. I have never forgotten that. If there is ever anything I can do for you, don't hesitate to call me." Lily was too emotional to speak so she just smiled, nodded, and patted Woody's cheek.

"I'll be right down, Lily. I'm going to help clean up the trash." Bug told Lily. She nodded and headed for the door.

As Garret and Bug helped Woody clean up the mess they had made with the packing materials, Lily took the stairs and went outside. A light rain began to fall as she made her way to her car across the street. She was surprised to see Jordan leaning up against her car.

"Hey Jordan. I'm glad you came." She said to her friend.

"I'm not staying…I just…I just needed to see him one more time before he left."

"Jordan, go in there. Tell him to stay. He will if you just tell him."

Jordan closed her eyes. The rain began to fall heavier.

"I can't." She said.

"Why not?" Lily, asked, but Jordan didn't answer, so she pressed on. "Jordan, why not? Why can't you tell him to stay?"

"Because he was going to leave sooner or later anyway. I'd rather it be sooner than when we were deeper into this, you know."

"How much deeper could you get? You love him and he loves you. He wasn't going to leave you, Jordan. The only reason he's leaving now is because you pushed him away. You left him. This isn't what he wants. He doesn't even know why you are pushing him out of your life, does he? Your father is sick and he is going to die. That is brutal and it can't be helped, but you don't have to lose Woody to. You can tell him to stay and he will. You can build a life with him. You are allowed to be happy, Jordan." She grabbed Jordan's hands and continued. "He is about to get in that car and drive away and you will never see him again. Is that what you want? Can you really picture spending the rest of your life without him in it? Can you live with the 'what ifs' if you allow him to leave?"

Jordan looked up at Lily. It was pouring now and they were both drenched. After a moment of silence, she finally gave Lily the answer she was hoping to hear.

"No, I can't. I don't want to. I want him to be here with me and I want to be with him more than anything. I love him." Jordan confessed just as Bug joined them.

"Then you better hurry and go tell him." Bug said. "Everything has been loaded up and he's about to leave. He's in there alone now so you can have some privacy."

Jordan looked from Lily to Bug before heading off across the street and around the corner to where Woody's car and moving trailer were parked. She planned to wait there for him to come out. Lily and Bug got in their car and drove off and didn't see what was about to occur. As Jordan waited for Woody, a hand suddenly grabbed her around her waist. She didn't even have time to cry out for as soon as she opened her mouth to speak, a cloth was placed over her face. It was chloroform. Jordan immediately lost consciousness and was carried away to an awaiting car. Several minutes later, as her abductor drove her away in one direction as Woody got into his car, and drove off in the direction of New York City.


	9. Abducted

When Jordan woke up, she had a headache equivalent to those she experienced just prior to having the brain tumor removed. She tried to reach her right hand up to rub her eyes, but she couldn't. She was on a mattress that was lying on the floor of a dark, cold room, and her right wrist was handcuffed to some sort of pipe. She tried to recall what had happened and where she was, but nothing came to mind. The last thing she remembered was waiting outside Woody's apartment for him to come out. Woody. Did he know she was waiting for him? That she didn't want him to leave Boston? Would it even matter? Jordan didn't even know if she would survive this to see him again. She knew she was in danger, but why and because of whom?

xxx

Woody settled in at the hotel in New York City for the night, but he couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Jordan's face and heard her voice. He missed her already and he knew he would for a long time, but leaving her was for the best. At least that's what he tried to convince himself of. It was just hard. New city, new job, new life.

xxx

The next morning around 8am, Garret noticed that he appeared to be short staffed, so he checked the board and noticed that Jordan had not clocked in yet. That was unusual for her so he immediately became concerned. He walked into the break room where Nigel and Bug were getting their morning coffee and just beginning the day.

"Hey fellas, have you seen Jordan? She was scheduled to work at 7 this morning, but she's not here."

"I saw her last night at Woody's good-bye gathering. She was on her way in to try and stop him from leaving as I was on my way out. She probably is just hanging out with him and either overslept or lost track of time," Bug answered as he stirred some cream into his coffee.

"Awe, love." Nigel said all starry-eyed. "Think our girl can convince Woody to stay in Boston?"

"If anyone can, it's Jordan." Garret said "Still, I would have thought she'd call or something if she was going to be late. Maybe I'll try to give her a call." He turned and left the room and headed back to his office.

"Well I for one hope he stays in Boston. I like having a friend in the police department." Nigel added as he and Bug left the break room and got to work.

Back in his office now, Garret rang Jordan's cell phone. After a few rings, it went to voice mail.

"Hey Jordan, it's your boss wondering why you're not at work. Give me a call. Bye." He hung up the phone and tried to get to work, but he still felt a bit uneasy, like something just wasn't right. He pushed the thought from his mind and proceeded to get some paperwork done.

xxx

Jordan's headache was finally starting to subside and she was regaining her strength. She was more aware of her surroundings. The room she was in appeared to be an unfinished basement. It was cold and smelled of mold. He hand was still handcuffed to the piped. It was some sort of water pipe, about three inches in diameter. She was still on the mattress but there was nothing else around. She didn't see anyone either so she began to try and free herself from the handcuffs, but it was no use. They weren't coming off. She began to push on the pipe in hopes that she could loosen it enough to knock it over and slip the handcuff off over it. She tried several times, but nothing happened. She was still feeling the effects of the chloroform so she had to give up. Just then, she heard the sound of a door upstairs, followed by footsteps. Then a man appeared at the top of the basement steps. It was too dark to see who it was. All Jordan could do was see the outline of his body.

"Who are you?" She called out. The man walked down the steps and shined a flashlight into Jordan's eyes. Jordan squinted and put a hand up to block the beam. "Who the hell are you?" she yelled again. Suddenly a light came on. There, standing a few feet away was Greg Jankins. "What do you want with me?"

"I don't want anything with you. It's that boyfriend of yours that I want and I figured the best way to get to him, is through you." Jankins said.

"Woody? Why do you want Woody?"

"A couple of years ago, my fiancée Lu left me and hooked up with him. Soon after she was killed. It was his fault. He needs to pay. You are going to help me get my revenge."

"You're a psycho. Woody didn't do anything and he wasn't the reason Lu ditched you, and he wasn't the reason she was killed. I'm certainly not going to help you get revenge on him." Jordan stated angrily.

"Unfortunately, you don't have a choice. See, I'm about to send this picture of you and me to Woody." He said as he showed her a picture he had taken while she was unconscious. She lay on the mattress, handcuffed to the pipe and he sat next to her smiling. "Then he will know I have you and start looking for you. I'll lure him here alone and just as he gets close to rescuing you, I'll light the match and you will be caught in an inferno. He'll watch you die and get to experience what life will be like without the one person who means the most to him, just like I do."

"You're wrong, Jankins. Woody and I are not together anymore. He's not even in Boston. He moved to New York. "

"He'll come back. Just as soon as he knows you are in danger, he'll track you down."

"You're a sick S.O.B." Jordan yelled. "That's the reason Lu left you. She probably figured out how nuts you were and couldn't wait to get away from you!" Jankins walked up to Jordan and slapped her with the back of his hand right across the face.

"You don't know anything, bitch! Don't talk about Lu!"

"Wow, did I hit a nerve?" Jordan said as she took her free hand and wiped the blood from her lip.

"Don't make me have to hurt you. You don't want your last few days alive to be torture." He turned to walk up the stairs. "By the way, your phone was ringing. See…people already know you are missing. Soon, I'll come face to face with the man who ruined my life and I will watch the pain on his face when he loses you. I can't wait!" Jankins walked up the stairs and shut the door, leaving Jordan on the floor of the basement.

"Screw you, Jankins!" She yelled after him before she began to cry.

xxx

Garret was growing more and more concerned about Jordan as the hours ticked by. She hadn't returned any of his phone calls and no one had seen or heard from her in about 36 hours. He had tried to call Woody's cell phone, but it always went straight to voicemail. He called Max to see if he had heard from Jordan but he had not. Garret filled him in briefly on what had been going on between Woody and Jordan. Max figured as Bug did that Jordan had somehow convinced Woody to stay in Boston and the two were just off somewhere spending time together, but he did agree that it was weird for her not to call anyone. He asked Garret to keep him in the loop and promised to try and call Jordan from his end. As soon as Garret hung up the phone with Max, he tried Woody again. Finally, several hours after his first attempt, Woody answered.

"Hey Garret, miss me already?" Woody said without even saying hello first.

"Woody, is Jordan with you?"

"Jordan? No she's not with me. Why would she be?"

"She hasn't been with you at all since we were all at your place the other night?"

"No, she hasn't. What's going on, Garret?" Woody said worriedly.

"She didn't come into work yesterday and no one has seen her since the night at your apartment. She's not answering her phone and she hasn't been in touch with Max either, which is odd considering."

"Considering what?"

"Jordan didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what, Garret?" Woody asked. "I haven't talked to Jordan since I picked up my things from her place. She didn't come to my apartment the other night."

"Woody, Jordan found out last week that her father has terminal cancer. He only has a few months to live."

"Max is dying?" Suddenly it all clicked in Max's head. Around the time Jordan found out about her father would have been the time that their relationship started to crumble.

"So you say you didn't see her that night at your place?"

"No. She wasn't there."

"That's just it, Woody. She was there. Lily ran into her outside and the two talked. Bug said that the last time they saw Jordan, she was headed off to find you. She was going to tell you that she didn't want you to go…that she wanted you to stay with her in Boston."

"I never saw her, Garret. Where could she have gone?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out."

"I'm going to let you go and make some phone calls from here and see what I can find out. There is a bank across the street from my old apartment complex. I'll have the bank pulled up the surveillance film and get it to Nigel. Have him look at it and tell me if he sees anything. I'll call you if I find out any information." The two hung up and Garret and Woody each said a silent prayer for Jordan as they scrambled to find out where she was.

xxx


	10. Searching

Woody called Max, Lily, Bug, and Nigel next. Nigel and Max knew nothing and Lily just confirmed to Woody that Jordan was in fact heading off to find him the last time she was seen. She told him about their conversation and how Jordan had told her she was still in love with Woody and didn't want him to leave. Right as he was hanging up the phone in his new office in at the New York City Police Department, Woody heard a knock on his office door.

"Come in." he called out. A police officer stood there with a thin envelope.

"This came for you a few minutes ago, Hoyt."

"Thanks…any idea where it came from?"

"No, it was sitting outside the building. I found it on my way it. It's addressed to you."

Woody took the envelope and opened it up. His heart sunk when he saw the picture that was inside. It was of their murder suspect with a huge smile on his face…sitting next to an unconscious looking Jordan. Woody called for the officer, Officer Mackey to come back into the office.

"I need you to find out who dropped this off and when. It's a picture of a murder suspect with my girl…my former girlfriend. He's targeting me and she is in serious trouble."

"I'm on it, Hoyt," Officer Mackey said as he went to his desk to check surveillance tape.

Woody grabbed his coat and raced out the door.

"Where are you going?" Officer Mackey called as Woody rushed past his desk.

"Boston."

As he made the drive from New York City to Boston, Woody called Dr. Macy to fill him in on the information about the picture.

"He's got her, Garret. We've got to find out where he's holding her and get there before he hurts her. He is connected to Lu in some way, but I don't know how involved they were. "

"We're on it from this end, Woody. Nigel is pulling up Jordan's phone records. If she still has her phone with her, we should get an idea of where she is based on which phone towers her cell phone pinged off of. Seely is researching Jankins family history to see if he has any relatives in this area and Lily is calling Lu's family to see if they have any information on her relationship with Jankins. Where are you now?" Garret asked.

"I'm driving back to Boston now. I'll be there in a few hours. Call me if you get any new information." He hung up the phone and turned the siren on in his car. He was determined to get to Boston and he was going to get there quickly.

xxx

"What do you have for me, Nigel?" Dr. Macy asked as he entered the room where Nigel sat typing at a computer.

"I pulled up Jordan's phone records. Around the time that you kept calling her cell phone trying to get a hold of her, her phone pinged off of this tower in New Hartford, Connecticut," Nigel said pointing to a spot on a computer map. "That's about 100 miles from here."

"That makes sense that they could be there," Detective Matt Seely said. Nigel and Garret hadn't even heard him enter the room. "Jankins lived in New Hartford for about six years as a teenager and he briefly attended, but never graduated from Goodwin College there. It's on Riverside Drive…about three miles from his former home. His parents still own the house he lived in."

"Woody is on the road heading this way. He'd pass right by there on his way here. I'm going to call him and get him there."

"Here's the address." Seely said handing Macy the paper. "I have a copy. I'll go from here. Tell Woody I'll meet him there along with some backup."

"I'll call him from the car. I'm coming with you." Garret stated.

"No you're not. You're not a cop."

"Shut it, Seely, we don't have time to argue. Jordan's life is at stake. I'm coming with you." Seely didn't argue any further as he knew it would be useless. He phoned the police station and got a few more officers headed towards New Harford. Once in the car, Garret called Woody and read him the address.

"On my way. I'm only about 40 minutes from there now. See you there."

"Don't be stupid, Woody. You'll beat us there. Call the local authorities and have them meet you there." Seely said taking the phone from Garret.

"I'll do that now." Woody hung up with Seely and Garret and was all set to dial the police switchboard to get transferred to a station in New Hartford when his cell phone suddenly rang.

"This is Hoyt?" he said, his voice filled with annoyance for whomever it was calling him.

"Closing in on us yet?" Woody recognized the voice. It belonged to Greg Jankins. "She said you would."

"If you hurt her, I will kill you." Woody yelled into the phone angrily.

"Oops…too late for that. She's alive for now, but if you call any back-up or if I hear one siren before you get here, she will not be alive the next time you see her. Come alone." Click. The phone went dead. Woody tried to call the number back, but no one picked up. He wasn't going to take any chances with Jordan's life, so he opted not to call the New Hartford authorities. He stepped on the gas pedal and increased the speed. He had to get to Jordan and he had to save her.

xxx

"Wow, Hoyt is better than I thought. He has already tracked us down and is on his way," Jankins told Jordan with a huge smile on his face. Jordan's gaze shot up and she looked him in the eye.

"Don't hurt him." She said.

"If I don't, he will never pay for what he did to me."

"He didn't do ANYTHING to you!" Jordan screamed.

"We were happy! Lu and I. We were happy. I was going to spend the rest of my life with her. Then she gets the hot new job here in Boston and everything changed. She said she grew up, but I knew it was that she found someone else. She threw me away like garbage. She never would have done that had she not come here. I was going to win her back but I never had the chance because those jerks lied about killing that kid in self defense and because YOUR BOYFRIEND LET HER DIE!"

"He didn't let her die. She was shot in a drive by! Woody didn't shoot her, some random guy on the street did. I tried my best to save her, honest I did. I worked on her all the way to the hosp…" before Jordan could get any further, Jankins cut her off.

"You were there too?"

"Yes. I got there right after Lu was shot. She died in my arms on the way to the hospital."

"She died in your arms? You honestly expect me to believe you didn't want her dead? I mean, she stood in the way of you and Hoyt. I bet you didn't do anything to help her, did you?"

"What? No! She and Woody were no longer together and she was my friend! I tri…" Jordan tried to explain but Jankin's wouldn't let her.

"Why didn't you save her?" He said as he got right in Jordan's face.

"As I told you, there was nothing I could do." Jordan argued and without warning Jankins backhanded her across the face, striking her nose and cheek just below her left eye. Jordan fell back onto the mattress and grabbed her head with her free hand.

"You and your boyfriend will pay." Jankins said as he ran upstairs. Jordan watched him leave before lifting her head off of the mattress. There was a puddle of blood where her head had been. As soon as she knew Jankins was gone, Jordan worked on the handcuff some more. She needed to find a way to free herself. She needed to get out of here and save herself, and Woody.

xxx

"Any word from Dr. Macy yet?" Lily asked Bug and Nigel as she joined them in the break room at the morgue.

"No. They haven't gotten to her yet. They're about halfway there. Woody should be getting there any minute now." Bug said softly.

"Did you find out anything on Jankin's history?" Nigel asked.

"Yeah I did actually. He was a prison guard in the city Lu worked in and often took prisoners from the courthouse to the jail…which is where he met Lu about a year before she came to Boston. Funny thing is though that Lu's mom says she never even dated Jankins. He kept harassing her and asking her out, but she always turned him down. Said Lu once told her that she though he was watching her but that she could handle it. Sounds like a stalker to me."

"Must have been obsessed if he'd do all these killings just to get revenge for someone who he wasn't even involved with. I just hope Woody gets to Jordan before he gets anymore revenge." Nigel said as he gazed at Jordan's face in a picture on the break room refrigerator.


	11. Hanging On By A Thread

Unbeknown to Jordan, Greg Jankins was upstairs dousing the entire house in lighter fluid. His plan was to lure Woody to the house, show him that Jordan was alive in the basement, then force him to watch as the house burned with her inside. It was almost time. Woody Hoyt would be coming up the drive at any moment now.

xxx

Woody parked at the end of the long driveway that leads to the house where Jordan was being kept. He didn't want Jankins to know he was there yet. He carefully and silently made his way through the trees. He saw the house and crept closer. He peered in a window. There was no sign of Jordan. He walked all around the house looking in each window on the main floor, but still did not see any sign of Jordan. He lowered himself onto the ground and peeked into what appeared to be a basement window. It was dark with only a dim light, but he could make out a figure lying on a mattress. He couldn't see her face, but he knew it was Jordan. The window had bars on it so there was no way to get inside. Woody crept around to another window. No bars, but three boards were placed across it. Just as Woody was about to go looking for something to break the boards with, he was struck from behind and knocked to the ground. He woke up some time later and found himself tied to a tree with a thick piece of wood. Jankins stood a few feet away with a huge smile on his face.

"Lovely night for a bon fire, ain't it Hoyt?" he said.

"Why are you putting her through this? I'm the one you want. Let her go."

"Nope, sorry. See, I was content with just making you suffer, but now that I know she had a role in Lu's death, she needs to suffer too."

"Neither one of us had anything to do with it. You're a sick psychopath. You will never get away with this. We have your name, your whereabouts and proof that you killed Greco and kidnapped Jordan."

"By the time the police get here, it won't matter what they have against me. After Jordan goes up in flames, I will have all I need in the world and I can leave in peace."

"You're going to kill yourself?" Woody asked.

"Why not? What else do I have to live for? You took everything that mattered from me."

"What about me? Are you going to kill me too?"

"No, I think a worse pain for you will be to watch the love of your life die an agonizing death. Live with that for the rest of your life." Jankin's smiled again before he pulled out a match. "The whole house is covered in lighter fluid so it shouldn't take too long. Long enough for the fire department to not be able to save her, but not too long that she'll suffer….much."

With that final word, Jankins turned around and headed toward the house.

"Don't do this Jankins!" Woody called about in vain, but it was no use. Jankins was already inside. Moments later, Woody saw a small flame coming from the side of the house. Jankins returned and sat next to Woody.

"Let me out of here! C'mon, man, you can't do this to her!"

"Oh I can, and I am. Watch it burn, Hoyt. Watch it burn."

xxx

Detective Seely and Garret Macy drove up to the driveway that leads to the house.

"That's Woody's car," Macy said when he saw the vehicle parked off to the side. "Where the hell are the police back-up?"

"My guess would be Hoyt never called them. Otherwise they'd be swimming all over this area. Try calling Woody on your cell. I'm going to make my way up the driveway and call for back-up on the way." Seely said as he got out of the car and darted into the woods. Garret rang Woody's cell phone, but there was no answer. He couldn't just sit by so he got out of the car and took the same path Seely did up the driveway. Before they got halfway up, they could hear Woody yelling something at the suspect, but they weren't sure what was going on until they got closer and saw Woody tied to a tree and flames shooting out from the house that Jordan was in.

xxx

Jordan smelled the smoke before she saw it or felt the heat. She got down as low as she could on the floor to try and breathe the clean air. She knew that Woody must be here, but where was he? Was he hurt? Or worse? She could hear shouts coming from outside, but she couldn't tell what they were saying. Fear began to take over. It didn't take long before the entire basement was filled with smoke. Jordan began to cough and breathing became more difficult.

"Somebody help me!" she yelled. "Help!" but it was no use. Breathing was becoming more difficult. Her eyes, throat and tongue stung. She craved water and oxygen, but there was none to be found. As she began to drift in and out of conscience, she started to come to terms with the fact that she was about to die.


	12. Just Breathe

Woody was in a full panic when Seely and Garret finally got to the top of the driveway. Because he was yelling so loudly, Jankins was unable to hear them approach from behind. Seely walked up to him and put a gun to his back.

"You are under arrest. Drop your weapon now!" Seely yelled. Jankins jumped up and pointed his gun at Seely's head while Garret sneaked over to Woody.

"Jordan's in there, Garret. We have to get to her," Woody whispered. Garret ran to the house but couldn't get in. He came back to Woody.

"The fire is too intense to go in through the door. Where is she?"

"She's in the basement. The windows are boarded up. You need to find something to bust through them." Just as Woody said that, a shot rang out. Jankins collapsed in a heap to the ground. Seely ran to Woody and pulled out a pocket knife as Garret searched for something to break through the boards that blocked the window. Just as Woody was cut loose, Garret returned from a nearby shed with a small axe.

"Hurry! She's been in there a long time." Woody yelled. The three raced to the window. Woody took the axe and hit the boards with all his might. After the sixth swing, the last board broke off. By now, the entire main floor of the house was engulfed in flame and the basement was full of smoke. Woody and Seely climbed in through the window.

"Lift her up to me and I'll pull her out," Garret commanded.

"She was in the center of the room on a mattress." Woody told Seely as the two coughed and struggled to breathe.

"Jordan!" Woody called out. "Jordan, answer me!" But there was only silence.

"I can hear the sirens! Back-up is almost here" Garret called. "Have you found her yet?"

"Jordan!" Woody yelled again as he continued to crawl around on the floor. Finally, he ran into the mattress. The smoke was too thick to see Jordan so he moved his arms around until he felt her leg. "I found here! Help me, Seely! She's not moving and her arm is handcuffed to a something."

"Macy, check Jankins for a key to the handcuffs!" Seely yelled. Macy hurried off and was relieved to immediately find a small key in Jankin's pants pocket. He raced it to the window opening where Seely was waiting for it. Within thirty seconds, he was unlocking the handcuffs on Jordan's wrist. "She's free." He called. Woody immediately picked her up and carried her over to the window. With Matt Seely's help the two lifted her lifeless body up to the window where Macy pulled her out. Woody crawled out of the opening followed closely behind by Seely. They got several feet away from the house and set Jordan down.

"Is she alive?" Woody said, almost begging. Macy checked for a pulse.

"She has a weak pulse but she's not breathing." He began to breathe into her mouth as the ambulance and fire trucks pulled up. "C'mon Jordan!" he yelled. Woody coughed as he watched Macy work or Jordan. That's when he saw Jankins lying on the ground. He walked over to him.

"You son of a bitch! You thought you'd get away with this didn't you? You'll pay for what you did." He was punching Jankin's repeatedly until Seely pulled him off.

"That's enough, Hoyt!" he pulled Woody up. "He's dead. I shot him in the chest. He's dead. Go back to Jordan. She needs you." Woody looked from Seely to Jankins then rushed back over to Jordan who was now being worked on by an EMT.

"She's still not breathing. Give her oxygen." The EMT commanded. Another EMT handed him a mask with an air pump attached to it. They strapped it onto Jordan's face and manually fed her oxygen.

"Officer, let me check you out over here." And EMT said as he approached Woody.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm fine." Woody said, never taking his eyes off of Jordan.

"But…" the EMT began, but Seely shook his head.

"He's okay. He wasn't exposed for long. Leave him alone." The EMT walked away. Woody got down on his knees next to Jordan.

"Come on Jordan. I need you. Stay with me." He whispered. Moments later, Jordan began to cough heavily. She gasped for air. "That's it! That's it baby. Just breathe." Soon after, she slowly began to opener her eyes. The EMT began to prepare the stretched. Jordan tried to pull the mask away from her face so she could talk.

"Don't try to talk. Just breathe." Woody said, grabbing her hand. He pulled her up onto his lap and just held her. As he rocked her softly back and forth, he whisped "I love you, Jordan. I love you so much. Everything's going to be okay now. We're okay." Jordan couldn't talk, but she locked eyes with Woody and felt a small tear trickle down her face.

xxx

Woody went with Jordan in the ambulance so Garret drove his car and followed them to the hospital. On the way, he called Lily, Bug and Max to let them know that Jordan was safe and that she would be fine after she was treated at the hospital for smoke inhalation. When he arrived, he found Woody sitting in the waiting room.

"Hey." Woody said when he saw Garret. "They are going to admit her for at least the night. She got some pretty good smoke inhalation and is still unable to talk, but she'll be fine."

"How are you?" Garret asked. "You took in quite a bit of smoke, too, not to mention that bump on the head and cut to the hand." Woody looked down at his fist.

"I hadn't even noticed. I'm fine. Actually, not that Jordan is safe, I'm wonderful." He said as his mouth broke into a wide smile.

"So, does this mean you two will be getting back together?" Garret asked as he sat down in the chair next to Woody.

"Garret, if I have my way, and I'm going to do everything in my power to insure that I do," Woody began, "Jordan and I will never be separated again. She's the love of my life and I was crazy to think I could ever get over that."


	13. Life and Love

The doctor treating Jordan gave her a sedative to help her sleep so that her throat would heal quicker. He told her it would be a day or two before she would be able to speak and her voice may sound horse for even longer. She slept all night long. Woody sat by her side until visiting hours were over and he was there again in the morning as soon as visiting hours began again. She was finally released several hours later. Garret and Woody helped her into Woody's car and the three made their way back to Boston.

"Don't you need to get back to work at your new job?" Garret asked Woody halfway into the trip.

"No, last night after I left the hospital, I went to the station and gave my notice." Jordan's head snapped up when she heard Woody's words. "I'm going back to Boston PD and I'm getting my old job back. I've already spoken with the captain. My office is there waiting." He caught Jordan's eye the two shared a brief smile.

Over the next couple of days, Woody nursed Jordan back to health with medicine to help her throat and by waiting on her hand and foot. She slowly regained her energy and voice. Max was a frequent visitor as well. The three avoided talking about Max's illness or the problems it caused Woody and Jordan, but the subject was in the back of all of their minds. The day before Jordan was set to return to work, she came up to Woody.

"Can we go for a walk? I'd love some fresh air."

"Sure." He said with a smile as the two made their way out of the apartment complex and began to walk down the sidewalk. The two walked and talked for a long time as they made their way to the harbor.

"Woody, I need to explain to you why I pulled away from you these past couple of weeks," Jordan began. "My father recently told me that he has lung cancer. There is no cure…he…he's going to die."

"I know," Woody said, "Garret told me the other day when he was looking for you. He was worried about you. I wish you had told me."

"I wish I had told you as well. I don't know why I didn't. I just kind of checked out for awhile. I couldn't get a grip on my thoughts. I had it in my head that my father was going to leave me just as my mother did and that you would eventually leave me as well."

"I will never leave you, Jordan. I hope you know that."

"I do now," Jordan said as she took Woody's hand. "I knew the night I was taken by Jankins. I was going to try and convince you to stay. I just had to separate what is going on with my father with what I have with you. I was able to do that, but I just…I just never got the chance that night, but thankfully, we have another chance." Woody smiled.

"You wouldn't have had to work too hard to convince me." He said as Jordan returned the smile. "Tell me now what you were going to tell me that night. I want to hear what you had to say."

"Well, I've revised it a bit" she said with a twinkle in her eye.

"How so?"

"Well, I was going to tell you that I want you to stay in Boston and with me and that I love you. That part hasn't changed. What has changed is that I still want you here with me, but I am ready to make a commitment with to you."

"Moving in together?"

"Well yes, that's part of it, but more." Jordan said.

"What more do you want?" Woody asked softly. Jordan took both his hands in hers and looked into his eyes.

"I'm in love you, Woody. I want to wake up with you every morning and go to bed with you every night. I want share my day with you and listen while you tell me about your day. I want to raise a family with you and just enjoy life, with you."

"What are you saying, Jordan?"

Jordan smiled, "What I'm saying…actually what I'm asking…." She slowly got down on one knee, "Will you marry me, Woody?" Woody was speechless for a moment then smiled.

"There is nothing I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you. So yes, I will marry you." He pulled Jordan up off the ground and into his arms. The two hugged and then shared a long, passionate kiss.

"I don't have to wear a diamond engagement ring, do I?" Woody teased when their lips finally parted.

"Only if you want to." Jordan said before kissing him again. "Can I ask one more thing?"

"Anything."

"Can we get married as soon as possible? I want my dad to be here to walk me down the aisle."

"I'd marry you today if that's what you wanted."

"Ha, today is not exactly what I had in mind, but defiantly within the next few weeks. You, me, my father, Garret, Bug, Lily, Maddie, and Nigel. That's all I need."

"And all I needed is right in front of me." Woody said as he pulled Jordan back into his arms for one more kiss.

The End!


End file.
